Film star Jude Law has told Britain's phone-hacking trial he was not aware a close relative had been paid to leak stories about him to Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid.

Law has given dramatic testimony at the trial of Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, former editors of the News of the World.

A shocked Law was passed a note with the name of a close family member he was told was selling details to the paper at the time it printed stories about his ex-girlfriend, Sienna Miller, and her affair with James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

Asked when he had first learned of the suggestion, Law, whose voice cracked slightly, told the packed courtroom: "Today. I wasn't aware of that."

Law, 41, is the most high-profile figure to give evidence at the trial, which began at the end of October last year.

"You are probably the first witness who I don't need to ask who you are or what you do," prosecutor Andrew Edis told him.

The jury was told that personal details relating to Law and those close to him had been found on notebooks at the home of Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator for the News of the World who has admitted phone-hacking charges.

The disclosure about his unnamed relative came during cross-examination over the sourcing for a story in October 2005 revealing an affair between Craig and Miller, and how Law had telephoned the British 007 actor to confront him about it.

"We had known each other many, many years. The conversation took on all sorts of turns," Law said of the call.

Timothy Langdale, the lawyer for Coulson, the editor at the time and later prime minister David Cameron's media chief, asked Law if he was aware an immediate family member had been talking to the paper and had been paid.

The surprised-looking actor said he only found out about the contact late last year and knew nothing about money changing hands.

Law was also passed notes with the names of a former publicist and an ex-employee, which were also not read out, whom Mr Langdale said had been in contact with the tabloid.

Asked by the prosecution if he had had any involvement in the story about his phone call to Craig ending up in the paper, Law replied: "No. I would have been perfectly happy if that had never appeared."

Coulson and Brooks are on trial accused of conspiring to illegally intercept voicemail messages on mobile phones.

They are also accused of authorising illegal payments to public officials while Brooks faces charges of perverting the course of justice by attempting to conceal evidence from police.

They and five others deny all the charges.

Media had 'unhealthy amount' of personal details: Law

Among information found in Mulcaire's home was a phone number for Law's ex-agent in Los Angeles and for mobiles he had been loaned by film companies while working on movies such as Cold Mountain in the United States from 2003 to 2005.

Law confirmed that recordings of voicemail messages he had left for his nanny were also found at Mulcaire's home.

I became aware I was turning up at places having arranged to go there secretly and the media would already be there.

Jude Law

He said photographers used to hound him and that the press had "an unhealthy amount" of information about his private life.

"I became aware I was turning up at places having arranged to go there secretly and the media would already be there," said the actor, who is currently appearing on stage in London's West End in a production of Shakespeare's Henry V.

Law said press interest in his private life had increased significantly after he was nominated for an Oscar for The Talented Mr Ripley in 2001 and split from his then wife Sadie Frost.

The attention continued and grew when he began a relationship with Layer Cake actress Miller.

Ex-journalist admits 'dark art' hacking at Murdoch paper

Meanwhile a former journalist who worked at the News of the World and its rival Sunday Mirror has admitted conspiring to hack into hundreds of phones to get exclusive stories about celebrities.

He is the fourth former journalist from the News of the World to have admitted conspiracy to hack phones, but the first from the rival Sunday Mirror title.

Dan Evans, 38, told a hushed courtroom he had hacked into the phones of celebrities, having been shown the trick by a figure at the Sunday Mirror tabloid where he got a staff job in 2003.

Asked what his role had entailed, he told the court: "Principally I was tasked with newsgathering ... and latterly with hacking people's voicemails."

In 2005, a former colleague who knew of his hacking skills, James Weatherup, offered him a job at the now-defunct News of the World. Initially he declined, telling the court he did not want to be Weatherup's "pet phone-hacker".

A few months later, another journalist from the News of the World who also was aware of Evans's "dark art" skills approached him about a job, and he told the court he had met up with him and Coulson at a hotel in central London.

Evans said when he told Coulson he could use phones to bring in exclusive stories cheaply, it was the "Ker-Ching moment".

"Andy knew what the context of it was," he told the jury.

Weatherup has already admitted conspiracy to hack phones, the court has heard. Coulson has denied all knowledge.

Evans said his hacking targeted about a couple of hundred people, making more than a thousand calls to their voicemails.

When asked how often he did it, he said: "Probably most days." He later said he had probably hacked more phones while working at the Sunday Mirror.

Giving evidence, Evans confirmed he had pleaded guilty last September to conspiracy to hack phones.

He also confirmed he had admitted conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, intending to pervert the course of justice and that he had entered into an agreement with prosecutors last August.

Legal restrictions have meant his plea could not be reported until now, and shares in Mirror publisher Trinity Mirror closed down almost 4 per cent.

Trinity Mirror said in a statement: "We do not tolerate wrongdoing within our business and take any allegations seriously. It is too soon to know how this matter will progress and further updates will be made if there are any significant developments."

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